SE Asian artists share their experiences

SE Asian artists share their experiences

By Ati Nurbaiti

MANILA (JP): Artists are often loathe to discuss the thought
processes behind their works. So when 35 artists from Southeast
Asia gathered recently and shared their thoughts in Manila,
insight was gained into the shared experiences and concerns in
this region.

Their few words -- more were provided in the event catalog --
enable the uninitiated to better appreciate their creations which
range from disturbing, serene, humorous or a mixture of all these
elements.

Artists from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Brunei Darussalam, Thailand and Vietnam met on Sept. 10-11 for
the announcement of winners of the Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards
1997, held this year for the fourth time.

The day after the announcement they joined an "artist
interaction" activity by daubing paint on panels to the
accompaniment of Filipino music and dance.

Indonesian Yuswantoro Adi took the grand prize for his
Masterpieces of Indonesia. Four other winners were Insects
Diskette by Malaysia's Ahmad Shukri Mohamed, Human Environment by
Vietnam's Tran Van Thao, A Wedding Gift from my Mum by
Singapore's Tan Juat Lee; and K-H by the Philippines' Daniel A.
Coquilla.

All the works are currently on display at the Metropolitan
Museum of Manila to Sept. 30.

Ahmad Shukri figured rows of diskettes adorned with
butterflies and other insects. Behind his puzzling display was a
hint of concern at the omnipresence of technology. "Everyone has
computers now...maybe in the future the children will only know
insects and (other parts of) nature from their screens," he said.
"They will not know the feel of rubber, the smell and sound of
insects."

Of his work in earthy colors, one of five beautiful abstracts
from Vietnam, Tran said it reflected his impression of the
rapidly changing face of Ho Chi Minh City. "There is a lot of
property development going on," he said. "And it seems the
environment is not as good as before."

Singapore's Tan described her red quilt-like work around
childhood portraits as a "tribute to mother love".

In the catalog, an advisor of the Singapore Art Museum, Eng-
Lee Seok Chee, notes the link connecting Asian communities
through Tan's work: "The frugal practice of saving odd bits and
remnants of cloth to use and recycle..(link) the mothers and
grandmothers of the present generation, not only of Chinese-
Singaporeans but of other Asians as well."

Philippine painter Coquilla said his painting of traffic was a
scene he knew well. "I pass this road every day..the funeral
service at the side of the road, the food sellers..." In a scene
common to most overpopulated cities in the region, a juror dryly
noted: "The only comfortable person in the painting must be the
dead man in the coffin".

It was beyond the layman to understand the jury's selection of
the winners as the other works looked equally arresting.

Hanura Hosea from Indonesia depicted a chicken coop with
figures in contorted features, one "talking" to a chicken,
others seated with joined hands around a table and one tied in
what might be a standing coffin. "A factory," was the long-haired
Hanura's terse description.

A figure offers a molded form titled "brain for rent", and the
viewer is left to search out the rest of possible meanings --
"the mental state of industrialization," suggests art writer and
chairman of the Indonesian jury team, Amir Sidharta.

Artists portray social concerns, but many said separately that
this should not be taken for granted.

"In the times of (late Philippine president Ferdinand) Marcos,
artists only pictured poverty, beggars and the like," said
Nunelecio Alvarado from Negros, the Philippines. In the 1980s,
at the start of the "People's Power" movement, they began to
depict "defiance," he said.

His own grim work, he said, told of life in his village:
floods caused by timber felling for the sugar industry,
symbolized by the red chain saw; the poverty, pictured by a woman
stabbed with a samurai ("for financial reasons, many of our women
live with the Japanese"), flanked by evil reptile-like men.

Malaysian juror Redza Piyadasa, himself an artist, said the
artist as social commentator and social critic was still unusual
in Malaysia even though it may be accepted in Indonesia and other
countries.

But the "pragmatic outlook" among Malaysia's younger
generation of artists surpassed more sentimentalized and
nationalistic leanings, he said.

Singaporean Lee Leong Seng, who runs an art school, said his
colleagues had yet to be more responsive to their surroundings.

He said it was important to remind Singapore artists to look
more to their own region for inspiration.

"Many young artists have the good opportunity to study
abroad," he said. "When they return it seems their minds are
still in the United States."

Another commonality to all the countries was the dearth of
female finalists. The number of female participants is unknown,
said jury chairwoman May Ching Kao.

Filipino painter Ivi Avellana-Cosio said: "My friends were
ecstatic when they knew a (Filipino) woman finally reached the
finals, but I do not want to make an issue out of it."

She said her parents raised their children to believe that
anyone, regardless of sex, could achieve their goals if they set
their mind to it.

Still, she cannot paint as much as she wants. Her husband is
also a painter and works at home.

Family members and servants, she added, would not dare bother
her husband when he was "working" about domestic duties.

"But I accept that," Avellana-Cosio said pragmatically. "If
not, life would be miserable."